AAP government likely to replace DCW chief: Sources

New Delhi: The AAP government is likely to replace Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Barkha Singh, who has been accused by party members of having "politicised" the role of her office while dealing with the midnight raid episode allegedly involving Law Minister Somnath Bharti.

Sources said that in keeping with the tradition, Singh, a former Congress MLA, should have resigned after her party was ousted from power in the recent Assembly elections. They added that she is likely to be replaced soon.

Following a party directive, all Congress members had relinquished their positions on the various Delhi government boards and commissions following the electoral drubbing.

Meanwhile, Bharti's lawyers and Singh had a public confrontation on Friday after she refused to allow them to present the minister's response in the case.

Claiming that a lawyer had misbehaved with her, Singh said she has written to the Lt Governor with the recommendation that an FIR be filed against Bharti in the midnight raid case.

DCW had summoned Bharti over allegations that he had last week led a group of AAP workers on a raid against some African women in south Delhi after claiming they were involved in a drug and prostitution racket.

Bharti had been asked to depose before the commission this afternoon, but he sent his lawyers instead who explained that the law minister was absent due to "some urgencies".

AAP, in a statement, has said that it "strongly disapproves of the politicisation of the Delhi Commission for Women by its chairperson".

Bangalore: Tech-savvy Karnataka government is offering free Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) to citizens of the state capital to access internet and stay connected with their near and dear ones on social media.

Touted to be the first of its kind in the country, the facility - Namma Wi-Fi (802.11N) will allow citizens to use smart-phones, tablets, net-books, laptops and other mobile devices to connect to internet seamlessly when they are around MG Road and Brigade Road in downtown or at Shantinagar or Yeshwantpur bus terminals and at upscale Indiranagar in the city's eastern suburb.

"The facility is a first step to make Bangalore a smart and connected city," internet and Wi-Fi service provider D-VoiS Broadband Ltd managing director Ramesh Satya said.

Initiated by the state IT department and the state government's ICT (information and communications technologies) group, the facility will be extended to 10 other hotspots across the city later this year.

To use the service, a user will need to have an authentication password, which will be sent to his or her mobile number after he registers on the network.

"When a mobile user is present in any of the five hotspots, he will be able to connect by configuring his device to our ION service and access internet after registering and getting the password," Satya said.

As the facility is being offered at the state's initiative, all government services such as Sakala, a time-bound service delivery are available on the home page.

"With a speed of up to 512 Kbps (kilo bytes per second), a user will have connectivity within the coverage area. Usage, however, will be limited to three hours a day or up to 50 MB data," Satya clarified.

The facility is expected to benefit thousands of people visiting the five hotspots located in commercial areas.

Tech-savvy Karnataka government is offering free Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) to citizens of the state capital to access internet and stay connected with their near and dear ones on social media.

AAP government requests African nationals not to leave Khirki Extension

New Delhi: Delhi government on Friday urged African nationals against moving out of the Khirki Extension locality following reports that some of them were leaving the area in the wake of the midnight raid which Law Minister Somnath Bharti allegedly led there last week.

"If they (Africans) are moving out of the locality, then it should not happen. I would request the residents of Khirki Extension to not leave the place," Education and Urban Development Minister Manish Sisodia told reporters.

Sisodia, however, claimed that the sex and drug racket did exist in the area with residents long having complained about the menace.

Bharti has been facing severe criticism after he allegedly led a group of AAP workers last week in a raid at the houses of some African nationals.

He has also drawn flak from several quarters for having allegedly misbehaved with the women during the raid. Meanwhile, AAP today released evidence in support of Bharti, including that backing their claim of a drug and prostitution racket at Khirki Extension.

The party also showed letters written by residents of Khirki Extension to police to take action in the matter.

Mumbai: Amid speculation that AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal could contest against him from his Chandni Chowk constituency, Union Minister Kapil Sibal on Friday made it clear that he will contest from the constituency.

"I am going to contest Lok Sabha election from Chandni Chowk, let anybody be in the fray," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event.

Sibal, a staunch critic of the Delhi Chief Minister, however, said he was not averse to subsidies like those effected in the national capital by the Aam Aadmi Party government with regard to power and water tariff.

"See the point is we are in the election mode... and naturally we all look at the aam aadmi." he said.

"As a govt, we have been doing this all along for the last 10 years for the common man. I think that though any subsidy which has a very negative long term implication for the economy is not something which is welcome but, at the same time, we must realise that there are certain sections of our country who need subsidies and therefore those issues need to be addressed," Sibal said.

The minister said 800 million people in India do not have a very prosperous existence and the government must think of them.

"Therefore, in that context where subsidy is necessary it should be given and where subsidy has long term negative implications on the economy then we should think before giving," he said.

He was asked whether such subsidies would not put further pressure on the fiscal deficit, making the target difficult to achieve.

Taking a jibe at AAP and BJP, Sibal said the Opposition has provided two alternatives--one who wants to run the country from streets and the other who does not have any ideology.

New Delhi: The AAP government is likely to replace Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Barkha Singh, who has been accused by party members of having "politicised" the role of her office while dealing with the midnight raid episode allegedly involving Law Minister Somnath Bharti.

Sources said that in keeping with the tradition, Singh, a former Congress MLA, should have resigned after her party was ousted from power in the recent Assembly elections. They added that she is likely to be replaced soon.

Following a party directive, all Congress members had relinquished their positions on the various Delhi government boards and commissions following the electoral drubbing.

Meanwhile, Bharti's lawyers and Singh had a public confrontation on Friday after she refused to allow them to present the minister's response in the case.

Claiming that a lawyer had misbehaved with her, Singh said she has written to the Lt Governor with the recommendation that an FIR be filed against Bharti in the midnight raid case.

DCW had summoned Bharti over allegations that he had last week led a group of AAP workers on a raid against some African women in south Delhi after claiming they were involved in a drug and prostitution racket.

Bharti had been asked to depose before the commission this afternoon, but he sent his lawyers instead who explained that the law minister was absent due to "some urgencies".

AAP, in a statement, has said that it "strongly disapproves of the politicisation of the Delhi Commission for Women by its chairperson".

AAP, Delhi Commission for Women, Barkha Singh, DCW, Somnath Bharti

AAP government to make all contractual posts permanent

New Delhi: The AAP government on Friday announced that all contractual posts in Delhi government will be made permanent as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal constituted a high-level committee to formulate policies and guidelines in this regard.

In a major relief to over one lakh contractual workers, the government also put a stop on removal of temporary employees working in various departments till the process of recruitment based on new criteria is not completed.

The high-level 13-member committee is being headed by Chief Secretary SK Srivastava and comprises two retired IAS officers, Prakash Chandra and Prafful Karketa, besides secretaries of finance, law and urban development departments among others.

The committee has been given the responsibility to formulate the policy in this regard within one month.

"The committee will take all the legal, technical and financial aspects into account in formalising the policy and finalising the recruitment process. A time frame will be decided upon by the committee to regularise these posts.

"Till the time recruitment process based on the new policy is not completed, those employees working on contract basis at present would not be removed," Education and Urban Development Minister Manish Sisodia said.

There are over one lakh contractual employees working in various government departments at present.

As far as recruitment process is concerned, focus will be on age relaxation and work experience in addition to skills of the employees. The data regarding contract workers is being collected at present, Sisodia added.

High drama at DCW as SomnathBharti fails to appear before it

New Delhi: High drama was witnessed on Friday at the Delhi Commission of Women (DCW) as controversial Law Minister

Somnath Bharti failed to appear before it in the case relating to the midnight raid against an alleged drug and prostitution ring and instead attended a kite flying festival.

Bharti's lawyers and the Commission Chief Barkha Singh, a former Congress MLA, had a public confrontation after she refused to allow them to present the minister's response.

In a statement, Aam Aadmi Party said it "strongly disapproved of the politicisation of the office of Delhi Commission for Women by its chairperson".

Claiming that a lawyer had misbehaved with her, Singh said she has written to the Lt Governor recommending filing of an FIR against Bharti for allegedly misbehaving with a number of African women.

DCW had summoned Bharti following allegations that the Delhi minister led a group of AAP workers who misbehaved with a number of African women on the pretext of a raid on an alleged drug and prostitution ring in South Delhi last week.

The Law Minister was asked to depose before the commission this afternoon to explain the charges against him but he sent his lawyers, who said he was absent due to "some urgencies".

"There is no provision by which we can allow representatives or lawyers. Bharti's lawyer who had come here misbehaved with us. The lawyer misbehaved with me," Singh said. The Commission had called two Ugandan women involved in the case to the Commission.

One of Bharti's lawyers Rishikesh Kumar said Singh did not allow them to put across his point on the issue.

"I have been asked by Somnath Bharti to represent him in today's proceeding. I came here at 3 PM and as I entered inside I saw many camerapersons were already present there. So I said that it's already 3 o'clock and we have been sent by Bharti to represent him," he said

"We were told lawyers cannot represent. I said I have got the instructions. I have got the authorisation and can you please let me speak? Then she said no, you are a lawyer. But I kept saying that we have a humble submission. I told her that because of some urgencies Bharti might not be able to attend today's hearing," Kumar said.

The AAP had yesterday decided to back Bharti and to await the findings of a judicial inquiry before any action can be taken against him.

However, the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the party chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal disapproved of the language used by Bharti against senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley and noted lawyer Harish Salve and asked him not to use foul language in public discourse.

Kumar said Bharti will file a written reply as the minister had received four separate compliants by four different women.

"We are going through the letters of complaints and will soon file a written reply because we have got the notice and we don't want to evade the due process of law and duly authorised representative can speak on behalf of the law minister," he said.

The DCW said five Ugandan women have recorded their complaints with it. The DCW chief said three of the Ugandan women have claimed that unknown persons had forcibly entered their house in the middle of the night asking for their passports and started searching their suitcases.

"Two of the Ugandan women have stated that they were stopped while returning from work and forced to give urine samples while sitting in a taxi," Singh said.

Bharti on Friday attended a kite flying event organised by Delhi Tourism. In its statement, AAP said Bharti, who also holds the tourism portfolio, could not go to DCW as he was to attend an official engagment of his tourism department followed by a function organised by the Lt Governor.

"Both the programmes had been scheduled much in advance and therefore, Bharti through his lawyers wanted to inform the DCW that he will appear before the commission at a later date. This was done by Mr Bharti despite the fact that the summons by the DCW were sent to him on wrong addresses, but showing full respect for the commission he decided to be represented before it," the AAP said.

"The attempts by the DCW chairperson, who is a former MLA of the Congress party, to create a controversy on the issue clearly shows her political intentions," it said.

New Delhi: Congress on Friday released its first advertisement for the Lok Sabha polls, but main Opposition BJP targeted it saying the party has "copied" Narendra Modi's ad blitz at a BJP convention in 2011.

Rahul Gandhi is at the centrestage of the campaign 'Mein Nahi, Hum' (Not I, we) which appeared in today's newspapers.

Dismissing BJP's charges of plagiarism, Congress spokesperson Shobha Oza insisted that no one has sole proprietary right on words and ideas.

According to BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain, this is a phrase coined by Modi at the party's 'Chintan Shivir' in 2011 where he said 'Mein Nahi, Hum' to connect with the common man.

"Though Congress hates Modi, they like the phrase coined by him and use as their own slogan," he said.

He sought to find loopholes in the ad saying, "Although they have copied from Modi, they have not done so properly as the pictures of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi are missing."

"It only shows the picture of Rahul. One can only imagine where the 'hum' are, it is only 'mein' (me) in the ad," Hussain said. Oza said there is "no need for Congress to copy anyone".

"Just because someone says it is their baby,... (it is not the case," she said, adding that the Congress has always emphasised on "we" and has played inclusive politics.

"This is unlike the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP who often propagates the theory of 'I and me' and often forgets that he is part of the BJP," she said.

The Congress' main slogan is "har haath shakti, har haath tarakki", she said, adding based on the theme of self-help, the slogan meant "power in every hand; progress for everyone".

Apparently hinting at AAP, she suggested that the Congress was the first to talk of the aam aadmi plank 10 years ago.

Incidentally, the Congress punch line in the ad campaign of 2009 was: Congress Ka Haath, Aam Aadmi ke Saath (the Congress' hand is always with the common man).

The campaign in 2004 Lok Sabha polls revolved around 'Aam Aadmi Ko Kya Mila' (What did the common man get), a response to the BJP's 'India Shining' campaign.

Pune man arrested for hacking over 900 emailaccounts

New Delhi: In a first-of-its-kind synchronised operation, CBI on Saturday acted on the inputs of FBI to arrest a man from Pune who allegedly hacked over 900 email accounts across the globe for clients ranging from individuals to corporates.

CBI sources said they had inputs from the US probe agency on the activities of Amit Vikram Tiwari, son of a senior army officer. He was arrested for alleged violation of the Information Technology Act.

The sources said 30-year-old Tiwari was allegedly working for his clients through two web sites-- www.hirehacker.net and www.anonymiti.com-- with servers located in the US offering services of illegally accessing passwords of email accounts in exchange for a fee varying from USD 250-500.

They said payments were allegedly routed through Western Union and Paypal.

They said during initial questioning, it has surfaced that Tiwari allegedly hacked into 900 email accounts between February 2011 and 2013, of which 171 were Indian victims. The clients varied from individuals to corporates.

CBI sources said they are still probing whether national security was compromised by Tiwari's acts.

The sources said there is information that people linked with Indian Premier League also tried to rope in Tiwari but talks failed over payment issues. The agency is still verifying these claims.

Based on the FBI inputs, CBI had registered a preliminary enquiry and carried out detailed ground work to locate Tiwari who was also arrested by Mumbai Police nearly 10 years ago for cheating a credit card company.

After collecting prima-facie evidence, CBI registered two FIRs under IPC of theft and provisions of violation of Information Technology Act relating to identity theft (Section 66(c)) read with provisions of hacking and assisting in stealing information.

After filing cases, CBI carried out searches in Mumbai, Pune and Ghaziabad today which were synchronised for the first time with similar operations in China, Romania and the US by the agencies of the respective countries, the sources said.

Left is projected to get only 15-23 seats. The survey gives 6-12 Lok Sabha seats to AAP. It also projects dismal show by Samajwadi Party and BSP.

According to it, Samajwadi Party is projected to get only 8-14 seats and BSP 10-16 seats. In terms of poll percentage, BJP is projected to get 34 percent voteshare, a 15.2 percent jump since 2009 Lok Sabha polls.

At the same time, the survey shows Congress getting 27 percent voteshare-- a 1.6 percent decline since 2009. The survey shows that Narendra Modi continues to be the top choice for the prime minister's post -- much ahead of Rahul Gandhi.

While 34 percent preferred Modi to be prime minister, only 15 percent supported Gandhi. Sonia Gandhi is projected third on the PM ratings at 5 per cent. It shows AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal getting support of three per cent for the PM's post.

According to the survey, in a direct face-off between Modi and Rahul, 42 percent prefer Modi and only 25 percent prefer Rahul as PM.

New Delhi: The BJP on Friday accused the Congress of copying lines from its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's 2011 slogan in an advertisement featuring Rahul Gandhi. The Congress denied the plagiarism charge.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Meenkashi Lekhi alleged the Congress had copied "Main nahin, hum (not me but us)" from a slogan used by Modi.

"This slogan was used by him (Modi) in February 2011. When you lift something, the basic rule is that you should give credit," Lekhi told said.

She said Congress was showing "a bankruptcy of ideas". The Congress, however, denied the charge. Party spokesperson Shobha Ojha said the party had always spoken of inclusive politics. "Congress is all about we," she said.

Answering queries, Ojha said a slogan does not become a BJP slogan. "You can't make it a personal phrase. Words are not personal property. What matters is acting on them," she said.

Ojha said the Congress had coined a slogan concerning "aam aadmi" (common man) in 2004 and a party with the same name came about in 2012. She said many of the party's ideas have been used by others.The advertisement in many national dailies had a prominent photograph of Congress vice president along with people from various sections of the society and a slogan talking about party's endeavour to strive for progress of all citizens.

The advertisement was seen in political circles as a dig at Modi, whom the Congress leaders have accused of practising an individualistic style of politics.

BJP, Congress, Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Congress advertisement,

Congress copies BJP ad

Pakistan cautious about BCCI offer to play in neutral venues

Karachi: The cricket community in the country has reacted cautiously to reports that the Indian and English Boards were willing to play Pakistan at neutral venues with some asking the PCB not to fall in the "trap".

The reports of the BCCI and the England and Wales Cricket Board hinting to agree to play Pakistan in neutral venues came ahead of ICC' executive board meeting in Dubai on January 28 and 29 in which India, Australia and England are keen to get a working paper approved, that restructures the governance of world cricket and cedes executive decision making to them.

Former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas said that the PCB should be careful while going through the offers from the Indian and English Boards.

"It is clear they want us to support this restructuring of world cricket and are offering us a lollipop. Pakistan must keep in mind its long term interests and also the interest of world cricket and other members before deciding on a clear line of action," he said.

Former PCB chief executive Arif Abbasi warned the Board not to fall into BCCI and ECB's "trap".

"I would warn the Pakistan board to not fall into this trap of India promising to play us at neutral venues or even England wanting to give us a series," he said.

He said that India, Australia and England were basically trying to become first class citizens in the ICC and make the seven other nations second class citizens.

The PCB confirmed that Giles Clarke of the ECB had sent a letter to the PCB chief Zaka Ashraf wishing to meet him on the sidelines of the ICC board meeting to discuss possible series between the two countries.

The cricket community in the country has reacted cautiously to reports that the Indian and English Boards were willing to play Pakistan at neutral venues with some asking the PCB not to fall in the "trap".

Doha: Gaganjeet Bhullar suffered finishing blues, while Shiv Kapur endured a mid-round collapse as both the Indian golfers finished at tied 24th place after the third round of Commercial Bank Qatar Masters on Friday.

Bhullar, who dropped three bogeys in last eight holes, including one on the finishing hole, carded one-over 73 and is now six-under 210 for 54 holes.

Kapur, who started the day with a birdie, dropped four shots between the sixth and 14th but also had three birdies in that stretch. He also ended with a 73 and is also at six-under 210 in tied 24th place.

Jeev Milkha Singh who had six bogeys in first 12 holes, had four birdies in last five holes for a card of 73 and is one-under 215 and in tied 57th place.

Atop the leaderboard, Steve Webster (70) caught up with overnight leader Rafa Cabrera-Bello (73) and both now share the lead at 12-under after three days.

Thomas Aiken (70), Thorbjorn Olesen (68) and Adrian Saddier (64) share the third spot at 11-under. Saddier, who came through the Qualifying School after turning pro last year, blazed his way with six birdies in first seven holes and carded 64 to move to third. He was tied sixth in only his second event of the year at Nelson Mandela Championship and missed the cut last week in Abu Dhabi.

Dubai: India on Friday regained back their No 1 ranking in the ICC ODI list after Australia lost their fourth one day international against England by 57 runs thereby dropping to the second place in the 13-team table.

As per the latest ICC table, India are back on top with 117 points while Australia are second with 116 points.

India lost their No 1 spot in the ODI ranking on Wednesday when they lost to New Zealand in the second one dayer at Hamilton by 15 runs courtesy Duckworth-Lewis method.

India were on 119 points before the second ODI against New Zealand while Australia were on 118 points. The defeat against New Zealand saw India losing a couple of points and slipped behind Australia at 117 points.

However the Aussies were defeated by England who won their first international game of the three-month long tour due to which Australia lost two points and came down to 116.

But in order to maintain their top rank, India must win Saturday’s third ODI against the Black Caps at Auckland --failing which they will again lose their top rank.

ICC, Australia, India, ODI ranking, ICC ODI rankings, England

Sardar Singh eager to find his 'scoring stick' in upcoming HIL

New Delhi: He has not been on target for quite some time now and India captain Sardar Singh is itching to get a few in order to end his goal-scoring drought while leading his team Delhi Waveriders in the second edition of cash-rich Hockey India League that starts in Mohali on Saturday.

From being the chief playmaker for India to leading the side, Sardar has tried to fulfill all roles to the best of his abilities till date but his inability of score goals everytime he takes the turf continues to haunt the hardworking midfielder from Sirsa, who is the only Indian player to have featured in FIH All Star Team twice in succession.

"It (lack of goals) always pains me. Whenever I go out to play an international match, I always think today I might score a goal bit it doesn't happen that way. I really forgot when was the last time that I scored a goal," Sardar said in an interview.

But the hardworking India captain is not ready to throw in the towel yet. "I am not someone who will give hope. I am an optimistic person and I will keep on working hard on my game and hoep to score goals very soon. I will try to break that jinx in HIL 2014," he said.

"I will play more attacking hockey and try to help the forward line in attack and hope for a goal or two in the process," added Sardar, who will lead Delhi Waverriders against Jaypee Punjab Warriors tomorrow in the opening match of the second HHIL at the newly-built hockey stadium in Mohali.

Karachi: The much-anticipated bilateral hockey series between India and Pakistan is likely to resume in March this year after the former has shown keen interest to tour the troubled-torn nation for a three Test rubber, according to PHF.

Pakistan Hockey Federation secretary Rana Mujahid confirmed the development after a telephonic conversation with Hockey India secretary general Narinder Batra, who said that India was willing to play three Test matches against the neighbouring country in March and April this year.

Hailing the development as positive, Mujahid said that Indian team's visit to Pakistan was subject to clearance from the respective governments of both the countries.

"Indo-Pak ties are governed by relations between the governments and we don't want to create expectations straightaway because in the past also we have had disappointments for some reason or the other," he said.

"But we are hoping that this planned series will pave the way for regular bilateral hockey ties between the two countries," Mujahid, a former Olympian said.

He said the three matches had been planned in Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad. A hockey series of three matches each in both the countries was canceled in April last year after the Indian government refused permission.

Later, Pakistan hockey players were also sent home from the inaugural Hockey India League last year because of diplomatic tensions between the two nations.

India and Pakistan have played a bilateral series last time in 2006. Mujahid admitted that if the planned series got clearance than it would dramatically help in improving the financial condition of PHF.

"It would be a big financial boost for us if India plays in Pakistan and our position would also improve. Presently we have asked the government for a grant of 650 million rupees to help bail us out," he said.